Celia Thaxter ALS, 1892 Autograph Letter Signed

Autograph letter signed by American author and poet Celia Thaxter (1835-1894.) Sent from [Isles of] Shoals in May 1892 with interesting literary content. Addressed to "Dear friend" [likely Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century magazine.] Thaxter writes that she expected "Mr. Winch's Sonnet" to be in the May number of The Century and, as it didn't appear, asked for it back for further revision: "It has only one good line in it + that's the last, + I want to have it if I can." The finished poem appeared in the July 1892 issue (p. 535.) It was written in appreciation of [William] J. Winch, a tenor who was part of a musical performing family from Boston. 1 page on thin, translucent paper with a thicker cream border. Approx. 7 x 8.25 inches. Reproduction photo of Thaxter with facsimile signature is neatly affixed to the verso with small pencil notations by a collector. Fine with one light crease, mailing folds. Celia Thaxter was one of the most popular New England poets of the latter 19th century. She spent much of her life on the isolated Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire. Her father operated a resort hotel on Appledore Island, where she cultivated her celebrated garden and established a summer salon of fellow artists and authors. Her literary circle included Hawthorne, Emerson, Longfellow, and Holmes, and among her close friends were Sarah Orne Jewett, Annie Fields, and the artists Childe Hassam and William Morris Hunt. Along with her poetry, Thaxter is best remembered for her autobiographical works Among the Isles of Shoals (1878) and My Island Garden (1894.)